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North Fork honors its own

Elizabeth Gabriel

(Updated: Thursday, February 05, 2009, 3:04 PM)

If you hang out in North Fork at all, you're going to run into Viola Carr. She's one of those people who seems to be at every event, smiling, helping, bustling around doing whatever she can to make that event a success.

Her good spirits and hard work were recognized last week as she was named North Fork Citizen of the Year 2009.

Among other things, she was cited for her work with the North Fork Boosters, the Community Art Gallery and the North Fork Women's Club.

In accepting her award from last year's Citizen of the Year Augie Capuchino, Carr told the "Stone Soup" story to remind people how important it is to pitch in.

"I feel no matter who it is, how much you do, it enriches the whole town. All the little things I do are putting stones in that pot."

Then she thanked everyone for their contributions that let her win this award.

The other nominees for this year's award were David Smith and Patricia Brown. Smith has been active in youth activities, particularly Scouting, for more than 30 years. Brown is a stalwart at Grace Community Church and among her community contributions are filling family food baskets, working on the Children's Parade at Christmas time and giving rides to people who need to take care of medical appointments.

Earlier, Carr helped make a special presentation to long-time North Fork volunteers Ila and Paul Barnes. They were given a scrapbook. Carr said many people in the room would remember sitting on Paul's lap as he portrayed Santa for years.